Revisiting Revelation by Symon Hill

‘Are you surviving the apocalypse?’ a friend asked me recently. With the pandemic, life has changed so quickly, that ‘apocalyptic’ may not be a bad word to describe it.

In its original sense, an apocalypse is a form of ancient literature. You can read hundreds of apocalypses, but by far the best known is the Apocalypse of John, the last book of the New Testament. In English it's usually known as the Revelation of John, or the Book of Revelation.

Sadly, the book is nowadays cited by right-wing types who use its symbolism without context to justify anything from uncritical support for the Israeli government to ludicrously precise predictions of the end of the world.   

Unsurprisingly, this makes many Christians nervous of Revelation.

This is a shame. The various images of Revelation revolve around a conflict between the powers of the world on the one hand and Jesus and his followers on the other. Throughout history, Revelation has inspired people resisting oppression.

A central image is the ‘beast’ and his power: ‘no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark ... of the beast’ (13,17). Virtually all scholars interpret the beast as representative of the Roman Empire. By extension it stands for all powers who set themselves up in the place of God, powers whose authority becomes so normal that people ask, ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?’ (13,4). This is the sort of authority whose supporters portray their critics as ‘unrealistic’ for suggesting anything could be different.

The world's powers today also seek to take God's place. We are told we must protect ‘national security’ and ‘not upset the markets’. Markets and nation-states have become idols requiring human sacrifice. In reality, they are systems created by people, and people can organise things differently if we choose.

This conflict is visible in clashes over how to respond to COVID-19, often representing a choice between the value of all human life and the idols of ‘the economy’.

Revelation is full of violent imagery. But I suggest it portrays violence only to reject it. A conqueror appears, at first described as a lion, but the ‘lion’ is quickly revealed to be a lamb. This is Jesus, the lamb who was killed, whose death and resurrection save people ‘from every tribe and language and people and nation’ (5, 5-1). It is not a violent, roaring lion that brings salvation but a loving, wounded lamb.

This is not to say that there is nothing problematic about Revelation. As John of Patmos struggled with the nightmarish visions he experienced, so we must grapple with the text that he wrote.

At the centre of the Apocalypse is a message of hope. Not the hope found in platitudes and trite images, but the hope of a Messiah whose triumph over injustice is assured, a triumph that the beast cannot understand, because it comes about through non-violence, and through love.

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Each day, we will post a short article by one of Darton, Longman and Todd’s amazing authors, offering a personal reflection on our current situation in life. Sometimes this will be written with reference to one of their books, and sometimes about how they are living in response to the coronavirus and our current world situation. We hope it will give you a taste of the depth and diversity of DLT’s list – books for heart, mind and soul that aim to meet the needs and interests of all.

Today’s post is by Symon Hill, author of The Upside-down Bible: What Jesus really said about money, sex and violence, which you can buy as an eBook and in print.